scholarly journals Designing a Big Machine: A Description and Assessment of a Mechanical Engineering Design Project

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Mena ◽  
William Clark ◽  
Ellen Moe
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Design Project

Thermal Engineering Design Project: A Calorimeter That Measures the Specific Heat of Aluminum

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75
Author(s):  
R. S. Mullisen
Keyword(s):  
Specific Heat ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Thermal Capacity ◽  
Thermal Engineering ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Aluminum Plates

A thermal engineering design project requiring the design, construction, and operation of a calorimeter that measures the specific heat of aluminum was assigned to a class of third-year mechanical engineering students. Before making the assignment, the author developed his own design, which consisted of two individual calorimeters — each an assembly of 13 aluminum plates with electric resistance heater wires laced between the plates. The exterior surfaces of both calorimeters and the surrounding insulation were identical. However, the interior plates were different — one calorimeter had solid interior plates and the other had perforated interior plates. By initially adjusting the electrical power into each calorimeter the temperature versus time curves for each calorimeter were matched. This curve match allowed cancellation of the unknown heat loss from each calorimeter and cancellation of the unknown heater thermal capacity. The final result was a specific heat for the aluminum alloy that deviated by 4.4% from a published value. A class of third-year mechanical engineering students, working in teams, produced designs using the method of mixtures (aluminum and water) and electrically heated aluminum samples. The 17 student groups plus the author produced 129 data points with a mean specific heat value that deviated by 19.5% from a published value.

MODELING AN ABBREVIATED PRODUCT DESIGN CYCLE IN A FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Kristine Sheridan ◽  
Jason A Foster ◽  
Geoffrey S Frost
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Project ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Praxis Ii ◽  
Engineering Communication ◽  
Detail Design ◽  
Praxis I ◽  
Design Experience

All Engineering Science students at the University of Toronto take the cornerstone Praxis Sequence of engineering design courses. In the first course in the sequence, Praxis I, students practice three types of engineering design across three distinct design projects. Previously the final design project had the students first frame and then develop conceptual design solutions for a self-identified challenge. While this project succeeded in providing an appropriate foundational design experience, it failed to fully prepare students for the more complex design experience in Praxis II. The project also failed to ingrain the need for clear and concise engineering communication, and the students’ lack of understanding of detail design inhibited their ability to make practical and realistic design decisions. A revised Product Design project in Praxis I was designed with the primary aims of: (a) pushing students beyond the conceptual design phase of the design process, and (b) simulating a real-world work environment by: (i) increasing the interdependence between student teams and (ii) increasing the students’ perceived value of engineering communication.

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